Artificial fuel and method of making same.



J. SCHAUB.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED .IULY I7, I9I7- Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

, W INVENTOR q 1 ATTORNEY r I r LII J. SCHAUB.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I1. I917- 1,262,267. Patented Apr. 9, 1918 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m ATQZ NE Y I. SCHAUB.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I7, I917- Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 i iiiiil j 50 a detailed sectional view of the cutting mechthen 'coho UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB SOHAUB, F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO AMEEIOAN LINSEED COMPANY, A CORPORATION OENEW JERSEY.

armour. rumann mn'rnon or mama sum.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. a, 1918'.

Appfloatlonfiled July 17, 1917. Serial 110. 181,083.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, Jason Somme, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Fuel and-Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a; s ecification.

The 0 jects o my invention are to produce an artificial fuel which may be easily ignited, is rich in heat units produces a. h1gh heat, does not fuse while burning, and leaves a minimum of residue or ash when consumed.

With these objects in view I place approximately forty-six parts of commercial methyl alcohol in a suitable vessel and add approximately four parts of cellulose having a content of nitrogen, which renders it so uble therein, preferably cellulose-pentanitrate, and agitate until thecelluloseentanitrate has been dissolved. I then continue the agitation and add a suificient quantity of commercial ethyl alcohol, containing from five to ten per centum of water, to bring the colloid to the desired viscosity. This usuall requires about twelve arts. I may y the addition of additional ethyl altransform the colloid into a solid jelly which may be cut into cubes of the desired dimensions. I prefer, .however, to form the colloid-which has been brought to the desired de es of viscosity, into a tubulous mass an intr'duce into the tubules and fill them with ethyl alcohol, the tubules being of such dimension's .-.that they. will be capillai ty in their actionand then seal the ends fo the tubules when the resultant product is cut into cubes, and for this purpose I use the mechanism shown in t e accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan view of my ap aratus; Fig. 2anelevat1on of the forming ie and the pipes for feeding colloid and ethyl alcohol thereto; Fig. 3 a sectional elevation ofthe forming die; Fig. 4 a top plan view of the forming die; Fig. 5 a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 3;and Fig. 6 a" sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 a sectional view of a portion of the mold and cuttingmechanism; Fig. 8

anism and Fig. 9 an inverted sectional view of a portion of one of the cubes of finished material.

The apparatus shown and described in rately in the bore of t c this application is more elaborately shown and described, and is claimed in my co-pending application filed July 17, 1917, Serial No. 181,034- V 7 Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the accompanying drawings.

The tanks 1, 2 and 3 are supported on a table 4, at a suitable elevation. Each of these tanks is provided with a cap- 5, which may be removed when the tanks are to be filled and then replaced. The tank 1 is designed to hold the colloid. Compressed air may be introduced into this tank from any suitable source, through the pipe 6, which is provided with a cut-off cock 7, by which the supply of compressed air may be cut oif or controlled. A pipe 8 leads from the bottom of the tank 1 to the chamber 9, from whence pipes 10 lead to a chamber 11 which is in communication through the ports 12 with the forming die 13. The cock 11 is for the purpose of permitting air to escape from the chamber 11 whilethe chamber is bein filled with colloid. The pipe 8 is provided with a cut-ofi cook 14. A pipe 15 leads from the bottom of the tank 2'to the union 16 and is provided with a eut-ofi cook 15, and a pipe 17 provided with a cut-off cook 18 leads from the union 16 to the strainer 19. From the strainer 19 a pipe 20 leads to the chamber 21 in the forming die 13. A disk 22 is mounted in a suitable chamber in the die 13, and secured in the disk 22 are minute pipes 23, spaced equally distant from each other. The lower ends of the pipes 23 are maintained in spaced relation to each other by the rin 24 which fits accu die, the pipes 23 thus forming the core of the die, the upper ends of the minute pipes 23 being in open communication with the chamber 21 and the elevation of the tanks 1, 2 and 3 being such that the ethyl alcohol contained in the tank 2 and the methyl alcohol in the tank 3 will flow freely to the apparatus by gravity, under suitable head.

Leading from the bottom of the tank 3 to the union 16' is a pi e 25, provided with a cut-off cook 26, an leading from the union 16 to the pipe 8 is a pipe 27, provided with a cut-off cook 28. 29 is a trough shaped mold, the cover 30 of which is provided with cutting blades 31. 32 is an electric motor which is geared to a shaft ends with en and the process is a continuous one.

through the orifice of ing trough to the molding trough 29, as it passes under the discharge orifice of the die'13.

"The moldindg troughs are rovided at their ing trough iscarried along another is placed ,end to-end against it, as shown in lig. 7,

In Fig. 9' I have shown an inverted sec- .tion of one end of the cubes of fuel 38,

in which tubules 39 .the minute tubes 23 as-the material passes the die. This figure clearly shows the manner in which the tubules are drawn and collapsed when the material is cut in the mold. I have also found that by permitting the material in the moldsolidify to a certain stage, the material may be cut into cubes without substantially drawing the material and collapsing the tubes and that the colloidin the mass which has not yet come in contact with the ethyl alcohol will be drawn by the cutter blade over the mouths of the tubulesso as to eflectually seal them. The tubules being capillary in their action, there is practically no tendency of the ethyl alcohol to flow from the tubules even if they are not completely sealed. 1 The operation of my apparatus is ,as folows:'-

Colloid of the desired viscosity is introduced into the tank 1, ethyl alcohol in the tank 2, and methyl alcohol in the tank 3. The cocks 26, 15 28 and 145 being then closed, the cock 7 is then opened and a suitable pressure obtained in the tank 1. The cook 14: is then opened and when the colloid begins to issue from the die the cock 15 is opened, permitting the ethyl alcohol to flow from the tank 2 through the pipe 15, the union 16 and the pipe 17, to the strainer 19, where any impurities are removed. From the strainer 19. the ethyl alcohol then flows through the pipe 20 to the chamber 21, and out through the minute pipes 23 into the tubules formed in the colby the p'pes 23, the colloid passing through the die also exerting a siphoning effect upon the ethyl alcohol. From the orifice of the die the material then falls into the molding trough 29 where it is formed mto rectangular rods, the ethyl alcohol in the tubules rapidly solidifying the interior surface of the tubules. When the solidification has progressed to the proper stage the cover '30 is placed over' the molding trough and the blades 31 forced down until they cut the material into cubes of the desired dimensions. In being forced down they collapse the tubules and drag over the mouths fication has walls 37, so t at as one moldhave been formed by of the't'ubules a suflicient quantity of the unsolidified colloid to effectually seal the mouths of the tubules. When the solidibeen sufliciently completed the cubes may be removed from the molding trough. If preferred, they may then be clipped in colloid, which, when it solidifies, will form an envelop about the cubes.

When all of the colloid has been fed from the. tank 1 or when the desired amount of fuel has been manufactured, it is necessary to remove the colloid from the die and preferably this should be done, before it solidifies. This is accomplished by closing the cooks 14, 15 and 18, and opening the cooks 26 and 28 and permitting methyl alcohol to flow through the pipe 8, chamber 9, pipe 10, chamber 11, passages 12 and the die 13, until the colloid collected therein is redissolved and removed. 'The cocks 28 and 14 should then be closed, the cock 18 opened, and methyl alcohol permitted to flow from the tank 3 until any colloid which may have collected has been removed. All of the cocks should then be closed.'

I claim:

1. An artificial fuel consisting of cellulose having a nitrogen content which renders it soluble in methyl alcohol, methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol, substantially as described.

2. An artificial fuel consisting of cellulosepentanitrate, methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol. I

3. An artificial fuel comprising in combination a tubulous envelo of combustible material, and a combustib e liquid inclosed in the tubules of the envelop.

4. An artificial fuel comprising in combination a tubulous envelop of combustible material which will not fuse while burning, and a combustible liquid inclosed in thembules of the envelop.

5. An artificial fuel comprising m combination a tubulous envelop of combustible material which will not fuse while burning, the tubules in the envelop being of such dimensions that they are capillary in their action, and a combustible liquid inclosed in the tubules of the envelop.

6. The process 'of producing artificial fuel which consists in dissolving in methyl alcohol cellulose having a nitrogen content which renders it soluble therein, bringing the colloid to the desiredviscosity by the addition of ethyl alcohol and forming the colloid into a tubulous mass and injecting ethyl alcohol into the tubules in the colloid.

7. The process of producing artificial fuel which consists in dissolving in methyl alco hol cellulose-pentanitrate, bringing themixture to the desired viscosity by the addition of ethyl alcohol, forming the colloid into a tubulous mass and injectingi ethyl alcohol into the tubules in the collo1 which consists in dissolving in methyl alcohol cellulose having a nitrogen content which renders it soluble therein, bringing the colloid to the desired viscosity by the addition of ethyl alcohol, passin the colloid through a die and forming t e colloid into a tubulous mass and injecting eth 1 alcohol into the tubules formed in the co oil 9. The process of producing artificial fuel which consists in dissolving in methyl alcohol cellulose having a nitrogen content whichrenders it soluble therein, bringing the colloid to the desired viscosity by the addition of ethyl alcohol, passing the colloid through a die and formin it into a tubulous envelop the tubules of WhlCh are capillary in their action, and injecting ethyl alcohol into the tubules in the colloid.

10. The process of producing artificial fuel which consists in dissolving in methyl alcohol cellulose having a nitrogen content which renders it soluble therein, and solidithe colloid so formed with ethyl alcoho Sfigned at New York city, in the county of ew York and State of New; York, this 11th day of July, 1917.

JACOB S HAUB.

Witnesses:

MARGARET A. HECK, Pun. R. Jums. 

